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Welcome to Our December 2021 Newsletter
Hello friends,
Welcome to our December newsletter.⛄ The festive season is here at last, and the end to what has been a tricky year for many is in sight. We're back with a round-up of all the latest industry news to keep you up to date this winter ❄️Are you thinking about your goals for 2022? Why not kickstart the New Year by signing up to attend our next PHS Talks webinar, with guest talks from the wonderful Neely Khan and Emma Greer. They will be guiding you through Visit Scotland's theme for the year - Scotland's Year of Stories - with insights into how you can use your business story to draw in more bookings. ✍️
This is a great way to begin 2022 with a mindset for growth! Check out our sign up page here or find out more below.
As you will see above, Cassie was thrilled to travel to Edinburgh last month to receive her certificate for participation in the HIT Scotland leadership training course. 🏆 Applications for this year are now open; if you think this might be for you, information on training programme (and how to apply) is available here. While there she also attended Scotland's National Tourism Industry Conference; particular highlights included hearing from Tim Owen, the head gardener at Abbotsford House (home of Sir Walter Scott), meeting and connecting with industry colleagues, and hearing from the Molly Hughes, an inspirational Edinburgh resident who in addition to being the youngest woman to climb both sides of Mount Everest was the first ever woman to ski solo to the South Pole. ⛷️ (You can find her website here.) 🏔️
Jo Hendrickx, co-founder of Travel without Plastic, was another firm favourite. Jo works to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in the hospitality sector by providing realistic, practical advice - not to vilify plastic, but to look at ways in which habits and traditional operating procedures hold us back. ♻️ We've combed through Jo's advice to create a list of 5 ways to reduce plastic waste particularly relevant for Private House Stay's clients - read it all below.Jo also presented on My Green Butler, an eco-friendly property management system, including a wonderful animated video about how the service works. My Green Butler is a responsible service innovation that empowers owners to save energy (and money!) by assessing how their guests use energy. This information is then used to optimise energy use for best efficiency, and encourage guests to have a more eco-friendly approach to energy usage during their stay. 🌎 You can watch the animation here.
Cassie was heartbroken not to make it on her prospecting trip to Shetland due to last month's storm, and her thoughts and best wishes go out to all those still effected by it's aftermath. She is looking to reschedule her visit for March and is feeling hopeful!
We're exciting to have expanded PHS to include our first Northern Irish property, Riverside Cottage at Logwood Mill, owned by Alan and David. Read all about it in our featured property section below. 👇
Thank you for reading our newsletter, and please feel welcome to reach out with any enquiries. We wish you all the best for the festive month ahead!
Take care,Beth / The Private House Stays Team 🏠 |
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Scotland's Year of Stories: How to Tell Yours |
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Meet Neely Khan: Following years’ of experience across various hospitality roles, Neely decided to merge her love for the industry with a lifelong passion for writing.
Neely’s business ‘Neely There’ specialises in storytelling and content writing services for the hospitality industry. This in-turn, increases lifetime guest value, and encourages paying guests to return to a brand, again and again. The writer’s unique storytelling approach has lead her to carve content for some of the industry’s biggest influencers. Neely has created brand stories for the likes of I-PRAC, Boostly, and Zeevou. She values working with her partners on a long-term basis, to really explore the crux of their brands, as well as their ideal customers. Neely There is a proud part of Wow Group of Companies, which has several other agencies under its belt, in the area of design, digital marketing, and IT support.
Meet Emma Greer:Emma is a copywriter who started her own business, Magnetic Copy, in August 2021. She offers website copywriting, email marketing, and blog writing services to small businesses and solo entrepreneurs, with the goal of helping her clients refine their target audience and convert them into customers using the power of words. Prior to starting her own business, Emma’s professional career was in the travel industry, including time as a Content Writer for Barrhead Travel and over three years as a Marketing Executive in the domestic market for award-winning tour operator McKinlay Kidd. She is delighted to have the opportunity to dip her toes back into a world she loves so much by speaking at the Private House Stays talk.
The webinar will be held over Zoom, and you can book in by clicking the link below.
If you have any questions about the event please email beth@privatehousestays.com.
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Travel Without Plastic
5 ways to reduce your single-use plastic waste
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We at Private House Stays believe moving towards greener tourism is incredibly important - we only have one planet! We're always looking for ways to help equip our clients to run more eco-friendly businesses. This month, we're looking at single use plastics, and how you can reduce your wastage. Travel without Plastic provides the ultimate guide to this - they also have some really useful free-to-read blogposts which we encourage you to check out!What is single use plastic?Single use plastics are, as the name suggests, any plastic product that is not designed for repeated use. Examples include plastic bottles and caps, cleaning wipes, cling film, cotton bud sticks, plastic bags, food wrappers, straws and disposable cutlery. In addition to piling up landfill, littering oceans and beaches endangering wildlife, these plastics are mostly made from fossil-fuel based chemicals (petrochemicals) which is also terrible for the environment!What can you do?
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1. Switch out plastic water bottles in rooms for glass.This is super simple one that anyone can do. Glass bottles are quick and easy to sanitise, and they look great in a room! This is particularly easy in Scotland too, because we have such yummy tap water.2. Provide resources for recycling.Adding recycling bins at accessible points, such as next to the standard bin in a B&B bedroom, in a communal area, or clearly labelled in the kitchen of a self-catering property, makes it much easier for your guests to make eco-friendly choices when disposing of their waste.3. Avoid unhelpful 'safety measures'.The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a massive increase in single-use plastic - and many of these measures are more to do with perception than added safety. Wrapping items such as television remotes in plastic, for example, does little to help the spread as the plastic covering then becomes the transmitter; it is much better to sanitise items directly. Single-use cleaning wipes may seem safer, but they are actually less effective than the traditional spray-and-wipe method as cleaning wipes rarely touch surfaces for long enough to be effective against germs. 4. Use refillable detergents.Running a short-term let, especially during the current climate, means a lot of cleaning. By using refillable cleaning detergents you can cut down on waste from plastic containers (and save money too - bulk refills are cheaper!)5. Provide your guests with easy eco-friendly options.Often, guests will default to the most hassle-free option; by making the ethical option the easiest choice, you can make a difference effortlessly! Running a self-catering property? Hang reusable bags by the door for guests to use while shopping. Running a B&B? Let your guests know what complimentary toiletries are available at the front desk, rather than stocking them in each room as standard. Finally... Let guests know what you are doing, and why. Filling guests in on your eco-friendly policies is win-win; it shows you are an ethical business while also raising awareness of the little changes individuals can make in the fight against climate change. Filling them in your efforts also makes them more likely to comply - people like to feel included, and it makes guests feel good to know they are helping to make a difference.Interested in other ways you can save money and save energy? Check this video on My Green Butler, an innovative service that helps owners and guests work together to reduce their energy use.
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Private House Stays is proud to introduce our first Northern Irish property! Located mere minutes from the town of Ballyclare, Riverside Cottage offers a warm and relaxing stay on the banks of Ballylinney burn.The cottage makes up part of an 18th century watermill, Logwood Mill, which has been lovingly restored and converted by owners Alan and David. Riverside Cottage shows its character in exposed stone, period wallpaper and antique furniture, while remaining comfortable with plush furnishings, soft carpets and central heating throughout. Particular draws of the property are its private Lower River Garden, which guests have exclusive access too, and wildlife watching opportunities. A lovely spot for local walks, it is also excellently located for exploring wider Northern Ireland; only 20 minutes from its Belfast capital, Riverside Cottage provides good access to tourist favourites such as the Giant's Causeway and famous television series' filming locations.
For bookings or more information please click here. | |
Discover Scotland: Reconnect 2022Connect with businesses around the globe with Visit Scotland's new travel trade platform
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Takin place virtually on 5-7 April 2022, Discover Scotland: Reconnect is back after two successful runs in November 2020 and April 2021. More than 7000 pre-arranged business meetings took place over 3 days last year in April; this year, virtual attendance is expected to produce around 300 buyers from over 20 markets, and attendance by 300 Scottish suppliers.This business-to-business event will have five regional showcases, known as Discover Scotland: Live Showcase, which will take place later in the year (May and September). Combined, these events will promote trade-ready Scottish tourism businesses to key international buyers.The event is open to Scottish tourism businesses, DMOs and local authorities that are travel trade ready and can offer bookable tourism product (registrations are subject to approval and spaces will be limited, so be sure to register your interest early.)Eligible businesses will need to have staff at hand who are experienced in working with UK and international trade Buyers, and have a listing on www.visitscotlandtraveltrade.com; however, if you do not qualify you can still schedule a 1:1 online meeting with one of Visit Scotland's Global Trade Team members to discuss key markets. FAQ page available here.
Looking to book a seat at the table? Free registration to attend is open as of 1st December, and can be accessed for distributors here.
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| Why did you choose Private House Stays?
PHS was recommended to me by a trusted friend in the Travel Industry. Coming from a Tourism Catering industry, this is quite new to me, so a personal recommendation to PHS was just what I needed, and has been fantastic. Cassie, James & Beth have been so kind, friendly, helpful and enthusiastic to have my property on board.
How has Private House Stays helped your business?
Coming to business with no experience in the marketing and booking systems, PHS has made things so easy and stress free getting my Cottage online. Having also used Airbnb, the PHS site is much more user friendly for me to use, I don’t have great skills with online technology, and after training with James, found the whole operating system straight forward, and easy to use. The excellent thing is our own website link to their booking system, which takes away the complexities of having you own booking system, while promoting your business and giving the added opportunity of bookings from PHS or from your own website without any commission. Being a new business I have great confidence in the PHS team to get my cottage marketed.
Would you recommend Private House Stays to other owners?
Although we are just newly online, I would definitely recommend PHS, the people involved are so helpful, and I have a lot of faith in what they do.
It's always nice to know what people are saying about our brand, and about the brand that is carrying your name. For a more complete list of testimonials from the members of Private House Stays please click HERE | | We Would Love to Hear From You
Do you have any suggestions, compliments, or complaints?
We would love to hear from you!
We would love to improve in our Quality, Service, and Accommodation, and you can help us do that.
Thank you for being part of the Private House Stays club. We appreciate you, and we look forward to seeing you again soon. In the interim, drop us a note.
We'd love to hear from you!
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For your convenience, you may contact Cassie on +447990595895 or via email
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